by Scott Gleeson, USA TODAY Sports

by Scott Gleeson, USA TODAY Sports

Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy told USA TODAY Sports that Marshall Henderson is as passionate and energetic as ever, and that the Ole Miss guard will open practice with the Rebels on Friday - putting an end to the suspension that barred Henderson from any offseason workouts this summer.

Henderson was suspended indefinitely on July 10 for a violation of team rules. According to police reports obtained by USA TODAY Sports this summer, Henderson had three run-ins with police in Oxford, Miss., including one stop in which Henderson was found in possession of marijuana and cocaine.

"He will miss games, but this is a process," Kennedy said by phone Thursday afternoon. "When he was suspended in early July, he was told by (school officials) that in order to put an Ole Miss basketball jersey back on, he had to earn it. That meant he had no access to our practice facilities. From July to the end of August, he proved he had taken those steps in the process, so he earned the right to be back on the team. Since we started school at the end of August, he's been conditioning with the team and he'll be at our (the first) practice Friday. The number of games he'll miss is undetermined."

Kennedy anticipates Henderson's game suspension to be announced as early as October by school officials. He's unsure if Henderson will attend SEC Media Days next month or when he'll address the media.

Kennedy said he believes Henderson has learned his lesson.

"Sometimes you don't realize how much you love something until you can't have it or might not have it," Kennedy said. "I've always said that a player's second year with a program is so much better than the first both on and off the court. Marshall is such a passionate kid, and I understand some of the things he does is part of who he is. He has a great love for the game. But I've had numerous conversations with Marshall and told him he can't cross that line and create negative energy for our team. Last year, all of the sudden, he became this phenomenon. I don't think any of us were ready for that. He knows now how to face that scrutiny. He's a kid in college so am I naive enough to think he'll never do anything wrong again? No, but I believe in him. We all do here."

Henderson, who was named Southeastern Conference Tournament MVP and led the conference in scoring as a junior last season, came to Ole Miss a year ago with a past that included an arrest on forgery charges stemming from when he was a high school senior. After failing drug tests in January 2012, he also served jail time.

"You can never minimize the fact that you're jeopardizing your future," Herren told USA TODAY Sports this summer. "It's tragic for me to see his situation knowing what I know, what I went through, what I did. ... Ultimately, he needs to get down to the reason why a substance is more important than yourself, your family and your future. Whether it's basketball, football, baseball or any sport at a high level, the price to pay is a lot of pressure. That's why he needs to incorporate some balance in his life and surround himself with people who have the same dream he does."

Scott Gleeson, a national college basketball writer/producer for USA TODAY Sports, is on Twitter @ScottMGleeson.